Living in the Past

The traditional Kyoto house (not dissimilar to the typical Japanese house, but I am in Kyoto so that's my reference point), is made of wood and paper, bamboo and glass. These Machiya It cost little to build and has a built-in lifespan of about 50 years, after which the elements had done their worst and the house had to be rebuilt. Honestly, it must be a daily fight against mould and rot in this place! A business might operate in the front of the main floor, with living space in the back and upstairs. some of them spread long in the back, as taxation was about street frontage. They had their own well, storage and sacred space, and even small gardens in the interior.

Machiya townhouses on a typical street in Kyoto

There got to be a point however, when the first person of a new generation thought "I want something stronger, and something like I see in the West." The old house was removed, and a tall building of cement or stone, with more modern amenities went up in its place. Instead of a business, the owner would live on the main or first floor and live off the rents of the apartments built above. 

This has made for a gap-toothed appearance throughout Kyoto, with traditional houses squashed between two towers. And then along came the next generation, which looked nostalgically at the old style, and started to favour patronizing businesses within them and so began more hairdressers, cafes, bars and restaurants, flower shops and gift shops operating from the machiya. Our guesthouse too is a modern machiya called Kamishichiken Karen (pronounced exactly as you'd hope)